nitramtpr said:

Same here, very dull, MotoGP is interesting this year, 8 different winners in the 11 races so far. Best season in a long, long time. :slayer:

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Oh yeah, Almost any of the motorcycling stuff is more exciting. Unfortunately since we terminated our Sky TV package and went to FreeSat there's not a lot of choice for the bikes. (think you need BT for that? and we're trying to reduce outgoings just now) Not that it's a desert either there's the British Touring cars and Australian V8 supercars (just love them) and a bit of other stuff from time to time. The F1 coverage (on channel 4 I think?) is horribly spoiled for me by the main anchor who just is not my "cup of tea". David Coulthard, Mark Webber and, especially the young plucky Billy Monger pull it back a bit but it's not a patch on the Sky coverage (I've probably been spoilt by the excellent coverage Sky's team gives).

The highlights are free on Quest TV every Monday evening, they show all 3 races.

nitramtpr said:

The highlights are free on Quest TV every Monday evening, they show all 3 races.

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Wonderful nitramtpr. Thanks very much. I just flagged it up on my Humax to record the entire series on Quest HD! Just can't wait!

nitramtpr said:

Same here, very dull, MotoGP is interesting this year, 8 different winners in the 11 races so far. Best season in a long, long time. :slayer:

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It has been a crazy MotoGP season! Although I do miss Marc Marquez - always a joy to watch. We can only wonder whether MM would have been able to make sense of this topsy-turvy season... Still, it's great to see some newer real talent establish themselves.

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

For some time now I've been loosing interest in F1. Even cancelled my Sky! The cars aren't "Beastie" enough for me.

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I agree, the current F1 cars are just too heavy for pure racing cars. Which is a factor that puts me off electric vehicles altogether. I'm sure FEV's will be the right solution for some, but not for me. I'm more interested in the research into carbon-capture synthetic fuels and the high-efficiency low-emission possibilities of latest two-stroke technology.

I enjoyed that paper @DaveMcT linked to; retrofitting existing vehicles with simple modifications to make them less thirsty and polluting makes more sense to me than replacing the entire stock with electric.

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

I've tried watching the electric formula cars but it's just, for me, boring - very boring!

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I think it's the flat, dull, artificial urban tracks that put me off Formula E. And all the gimmicks they throw in to liven up the action.

It's the artificiality (DRS and gimmick tyres) that's pushed me away from Formula 1 and more towards motorcycling and rallying, where I think they've done a better job of making the racing closer and more spectator-friendly but still 'real'.

Must say, I've enjoyed this Formula 1 season more than most recently. More 'proper' European circuits have helped... which is what most fans always wanted anyway.

Motorcycle road racing is probably my favourite sport now. I attended the Oliver's Mount Gold Cup in Scarborough last month, and would highly recommend it. All credit to the organisers for enabling it to go ahead with restricted numbers allowing for social distancing. Fingers crossed they can bring racing back to Ireland & Northern Ireland next year.

This "conversation" has been interesting in that it's prompted me to consider what it is about competition in vehicles that gets me excited.

Of course there is the "gladiatorial" aspect of the actual race itself. I think this is one of the contributory factors to making F1 so boring these days. The aerodynamics of the vehicles make close racing very difficult. They had to introduce the artificiality of DRS to partially address this but it doesn't work because it gives the "clean" vehicle too much of an advantage so the overtake is often quick with little wheel to wheel battling going on and because the performance level of the different cars is so different the field becomes strung out with only a few runners able to mount a serious challenge. (I've been a Williams supporter for years so know all about being down the field!). This is where MOTO GP and stuff like the Australian V8 super cars are so much better.

But I've surprised myself to realize that this is not actually the main interest for me. It's the vehicles themselves and perhaps that's where my love of Drag racing and Speed Hillclimbing comes from. You can wander around the paddock areas more or less with impunity and closely inspect the vehicles. I can as easily go into orgasms of ecstacy over a beautifully executed weld as a great big "Jimmy Blower" sitting on top of a 10,000hp dragster engine. The vehicles themselves are very diverse and their owners generally are very friendly and happy to engage in technical conversation about their vehicles. I find it's often a bit of a wrench to tear myself away from closely examining someone's pride and joy long enough to wander up the hill or go and sit on the "bleachers" and watch the cars running. Then there's the racing itself. I like the concept of the man, sometimes woman, on their own, striving to get the utmost last tiny bit of performance against the hill or 1/4 mile.